- Slovakians Robert Kolčák and Julius Lapdavský (Hyundai i20 N Rally2) win the Mitropa Rally Cup classification at the Rebenland Rally
- Rino Muradore and co-driver Cristina Delbello (ITA) take the win in the historic car class in a Ford Escort RS 2000 MKII
- In a Peugeot 106 Rally S2, Italians Federico Laurencich and Alberto Mlakar win the internal classification in the Club Championship
Slovakians Robert Kolčák and Julius Lapdavský secured a clear victory in the Hyundai i20 N Rally2 at the opening round of the Mitropa Rally Cup (MRC). At the Rebenland Rally in Austria, they relegated Germans Hermann Gaßner Sr. and Karin Thannhäuser (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X) and Mitropa Cup newcomer Daniel Rexhausen with co-driver Steffen Reith (GER) in the Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 to second and third place.
By the third special stage on Friday afternoon, however, the German team of Albert von Thurn und Taxis and Jara Hain (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) was already leading the MRC standings by more than half a minute. In the overall standings of the rally, which is a round of the Austrian Rally Championship, they are also in the thick of the pack of the local rally elite, holding a respectable third place. In the subsequent special stage, however, von Thurn und Taxis ran off the road. Due to physical issues, they underwent a medical examination at the hospital, which the two drivers were then able to leave the following day.
Kolčák thus heads into the overnight break in the lead. Daniel Rexhausen is in second place, 1 minute and 45 seconds behind, followed by Hermann Gaßner Sr., who trails by another 10.6 seconds. Fabian Schulze, however, is just 3.1 seconds behind the experienced Gaßner in his Peugeot 208 Rally4, which should make for an exciting rally on Saturday.
The teams held their positions until the lunch break on Saturday, but then Hermann Gaßner Sr., a seven-time winner of the Mitropa Rally Cup, went on the offensive. On the next four special stages, he was faster than Rexhausen, relegating him to third place in the MRC standings at the finish. Kolčák won and moved into first place with a lead of 2:54.9 minutes.
The victory in the historic rally car class under Appendix K of the FIA regulations goes to the Italian duo Rino Muradore and co-driver Cristina Delbello. In their Ford Escort RS 2000 MKII, they easily kept the Austrian pair Walther Stietka and Wolfgang Puff in their VW Beetle at bay. The Hungarian duo János Dunavölgyi and Martin Zsolt Wébel crossed the finish line in third place in their Lada Samara 21080.
In the Club Championship standings, it looked like Florian Auer and Elke Irlacher (GER) were on their way to a dominant victory heading into the penultimate stage on Friday, but then the drivetrain of their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII failed. This brought their run to an end. With their usual flawless performance, the Italian team of Federico Laurencich and Alberto Mlakar in the Peugeot 106 Rallye S2 took the lead. Second place went to their compatriots Nicola Graziadei and Michael Parisotto (Citroën Saxo VTS). However, they too had to throw in the towel for technical reasons and park the Saxo early. Thus, behind Laurencich, Gábor Hulmann and Barnabás Szegő (HUN) in the Lada VFTS, and Albert Sosol and Marco Comar (ITA) in the Peugeot 106, finished in
second and third place, respectively.
The Rebenland Rallye featured a total of 16 special stages covering 166 kilometers, with a total route length of 311 kilometers, winding through the surrounding vineyards around the idyllic wine-growing village of Leutschach.
